Electrosurgery (Electrocautery) for Wart Removal

Find Clinics offering Wart Removal in London & UK »

Our world both runs and thrives on electricity, making use of it to power our homes and offices, and helping you to read this article right now. It does have a number of applications in other fields however, and has been used medical purposes for many years. Electrosurgery, has been proven to be a great choice for wart removal, with some evidence indicating that despite being a fairly old method, electrosurgery might in fact be more effective than more modern techniques like cryotherapy.

What is electrosurgery?

Also known as electrocautery, electrosurgery is a method of cauterisation which uses electricity. Cauterisation has actually been practiced in medicine and surgery for many years, albeit in a different form. Cauterisation is essentially burning off part of the body to remove or seal that part off, and has a history in sealing blood vessels and the removal of unwanted growths. In the past it was literally a lifesaver where antibiotics and other means to combat infection were unavailable. Today cauterisation has evolved to retain and enhance its benefits while minimising its disadvantages, namely pain. While in the past a searing hot iron was used for cauterisation, nowadays electrical currents and chemicals are used under the effect of an anaesthetic to keep the process as comfortable as possible for you.

How does electrosurgery work?

An electric current can deliver quite a lot of heat energy, and it is this heat which is used to remove warts in the electrosurgery treatment. A metal probe with a current is applied to the wart which effectively burns it off. Heat has a powerful effect on living tissues, drying them out and denaturing (misshaping) important proteins and other structures to kill off unwanted cells. Because of this mechanism, it is an extremely effective method of dealing with warts as well as other skin growths. Sometimes multiple sessions are needed to completely need to remove a wart, but usually not as many as other treatments like laser therapy.

Is electrosurgery for me?

Electrosurgery can be a good choice if your doctor recommends it as a treatment, usually when first line options like salicylic acid creams and the like haven’t had much success. It tends to be a method more useful in the treatment of warts on your limbs as opposed to any of your more sensitive areas. While the mechanism might sound a bit daunting, the technique is used quite often to great effect, and you can expect that in the hands of an experienced professional you will receive a safe and smooth procedure.

« Duct Tape Occlusion Therapy for Wart removal Surgical Wart Removal »